♠ A965♠AQ75
With Hand B you open 1♣ (or 1♦ if you
prefer), LHO overcalls

♥ 643♥
Q1♥ and
partner bids 1♠. What do you bid?

♦AKQ6♦K942

♣ Q2♣ AKQ2

Hand CHand DWith Hand C partner opens 1♥. (a) What
do you bid?

(b) Suppose you choose 2♣ and partner bids 2♦, what now?

♠ AQJ6♠ AJ8

♥
A7♥ KJ4(a) What
do you open with Hand D?

♦ 82♦ AKJ105(b) Suppose you
open 1♦ and partner bids 2♣, what do you bid?

♣ J10642♣ Q9

Hand EHand FDo you
open with Hand E (2nd seat vul)?

♠ KQJ32♠ AQJ9632With Hand F
partner opens 1♦. (a) What do you bid?

♥
43♥
AK7(b) Suppose
that you bid 1♠ and partner bids 2♣, what now?

♦ Q75♦ 105

♣ K94♣ A

Bidding Sequences Quiz

G1♦ - 1♠ - 2♣ - 3♠3♠ is strong, but is it forcing?

H2NT - 3♣ - 3♥ - 4♣What is 4♣?

J2NT - 3♣ - 3♥ - 4NTWhat is 4NT?

K1♦ - 2♣ - 2NTHow strong is 2NT?

L1♦1NT(overcall)How strong is the 1NT overcall?

Lead Quiz

You are on lead against 3NT and partner has indicated that he wants
a ♥ lead.

MWhat do you lead from ♥K85 ?

NWhat do you lead from ♥K105 ?
No psyches please

Because of the large number of inexperienced players in the club, psyching
is not allowed. Let’s have a quote from the ACBL Official Encyclopaedia of
Bridge: -

‘People who employ psychic calls against less
experienced players may be guilty of unsportsmanlike psyching and thereby in
violation of League regulations’. In this club there is no ‘may be’ about it –
psyching is simply not allowed. Repeated offenders will be suspended/thrown
out.

12 off the topBoard 10 from
Wednesday 22nd

What was your answer to sequence K (1♦ - 2♣ - 2NT) in
this week’s quiz. South got it wrong at table A.

Dealer:♠ K6Table
A

East♥ A85WestNorthEastSouth(D)

Both vul♦
64--pass1♦(1)

♣ AK7643pass2♣pass2NT(2)

pass3NT(3)passpass(4)

♠ Q107432N♠ 95pass

♥ 63WE♥ Q10972

♦83S♦ Q972Table B

♣ J102♣ 85WestNorthEastSouth(D)

♠ AJ8--pass2NT(1)

♥
KJ4pass4♣(5)pass4♠

♦
AKJ105pass6NTall
pass

♣ Q9

Table A:(1)What did you open with this South hand D(a) in this week’s quiz? 19 points, so 1♦ followed
by a jump in NT seems superficially correct. But I prefer the opening at Table
B.

(2)This is sequence
K. What did you bid with this South hand D(b) in this
week’s quiz? South thought that he was showing 18-19 points. Unfortunately he
is not. After a two level response 2NT is the cheapest NT bid available and
shows 12-14. To show 18-19 you have to jump, so 3NT.

-After a two level response from partner,
2NT is 12-14 and 3NT is the bid hand.

Don’t deny a 4 card majorBoard 22 from
Monday 20th

A recurring theme in the news-sheets, but this time things went
wrong not because a 4-4 fit was missed, but for another reason: -

Dealer:♠ 843Table
A

East♥ 72West(A)NorthEastSouth

E-W vul♦ 3--1♥pass

♣ J10987643NT(1)all
pass

♠ A965N♠ KJ7Table B

♥ 643WE♥ AKQ105West(A)NorthEastSouth

♦AKQ6S♦ 10942--1♥pass

♣ Q2♣ 31♠(1)pass2♦(2)pass

♠ Q1024♥(3)all
pass

♥
J98

♦
J875

♣ AK5

Table A:(1)What did you bid with this West hand A in this
week’s quiz? Opinion is divided when responder has 4 ♠’s and 5 ♥’s opposite
a 1♥ opening. I generally always bid 1♠ but with a weak hand
it may be best to bid 2♥. But with game going values and weak ♥’s I prefer 1♠ with west
hand. This 3NT (‘showing the points’) was silly.

Table B:(1)This West got it right.

(2)Even though the ♥ suit is
great (and thus re-biddable) I still prefer to bid this ropey ♦ suit. It
shows the shape of the hand.

(3)And West now knows that East
has at most 4 black cards and so 3NT will be very dicey indeed. Had East
responded 3♣ then 3NT would be reasonable although many would still prefer the
5-3 ♥fit.

And what happened?

North led the ♣J. South correctly overtook, played a ♣K and then the ♣5 and that
was a deserved 3 down, so 300 for N-S . As this was
the only negative score for any E-W it did not matter how many it went down.

The bottom lines: -

-4-4 fits are
‘golden’. But 5-3 fits sometimes play better in NT especially if the trumps are
poor. It’s not applicable in this actual deal, but 5-3 fits play very well even
with poor trumps when the 3 card trump hand also has shortage elsewhere (so you
get a ruff in the short hand).

-The ‘I wanted to
show my points’ excuse is not good enough. We all play natural systems, if you
‘want to show your points’ then take up Precision.

A splinter?Board
15 from Monday 20th

West at Table A asked me just how bad his 2ndbid(4) on this deal was. My answer was that it was slightly
better than his partner’s 2ndbid(5): -

Dealer:♠ 6Table
A

South♥ AK753West(B)NorthEastSouth

N-S vul♦
Q3---pass(1)

♣ 986531♦(2)1♥1♠(3)pass

4♣(4)passpass(5)pass

♠ AQ75N♠ J98432

♥ QWE♥ 10862Table
B

♦K942S♦ JWest(B)NorthEastSouth

♣ AKQ2♣ J4---pass(1)

♠ K101♣(2)1♥1♠(3)pass

♥
J943♥(4)pass4♠(5)all
pass

♦ A108765

♣ 107

Table A:(1)I would open a weak 2♦ so I guess that this pair do not play 2♦ as weak?

(2)I prefer to open
1♣ when equal length (3-3 or 4-4) in the minors but that’s just my
personal preferred style.

(3)This 1♠ bid seemed to be popular. With no
overcall I would bid 1♠ but with an overcall I would pass and bid ♠’s at the lowest level
later (often it will go round to partner who doubles ‘automatically’ and you
can then bid 1♠. Another treatment is to play negative free bids but I don’t really
recommend them, especially to inexperienced players.

(4)What did you bid with this West hand B in this week’s
quiz? This 4♣ bid is obviously forcing but I don’t understand it. 3♣ is natural
and forcing and so 4♣ should be a splinter. I would choose the bid at Table B.

(5)Obviously East should not pass, I suppose he thought 4♣ was
natural and did not want to get too high?

Table B:(2)This West chose 1♣, fine – that would be
my choice.

(3)And this East also decided
to bid.

(4)This is the answer to the Hand B quiz. A splinter
agreeing ♥’s.

(5)Now it depends upon how you play your splinters. I
prefer to play them as game forcing, so 4♠ here is fast arrival
and ‘shut up’.

And what happened?

The good 4♠ was the most popular spot, arrived at by various routes.

The bottom lines: -

-One above the
forcing natural bid is a splinter.

-My personal style
is to respond to partner’s 1♣/♦ opening with a weak
hand and shortage in his suit, but there is no need to do this if RHO overcalls.

4th suit forcing – part 1Board 8 from
Friday 24th

If you have the 4th suit, then bid NT!:
-

Dealer:♠ K954

West♥ J9WestNorthEast(C)South

Love all♦
KJ109641♥pass(1)2♣(2)pass

♣ 82♦pass2♠(3)pass

3♣(4)passpass(5)pass

♠ 8N♠ AQJ6

♥ KQ853WE♥ A7

♦A753S♦ 82

♣ AQ7♣ J10642

♠ 10732

♥
10642

♦ Q

♣ K953

(1)A weak jump overcall of 3♦ is an
alternative.

(2)What did you bid
with this East hand C(a) in this week’s quiz. You
could bid 1♠ but most experiences players these days bid the minor and then ♠’s next go
– showing the shape and game forcing.

(3)But you have to change tack as a ♠ bid now is
the 4th suit. What did you bid with this East hand C(b) in this week’s quiz? Now partner could just be 4540
shape but that’s unlikely. ♠’s is the 4th suit and a 2♠ bid here as 4th
suit has little point. Simplest is to simply bid 3NT although 2♠ is
technically correct (and bid 3NT later if partner does not ‘support’ ♠’s).

(4)West has no ♠ stop, but 3♣ is fine as
he considered the auction to be game forcing.

(5)East missed his 2nd chance to bid 3NT.

And what happened?

3♣ made +2 and scored a near zero.

The bottom lines: -

-A bid of the 4th
suit is not natural.

-If you have a good holding in the 4th suit, then NT is
probably best.

-There are various treatments for 4th suit forcing. It’s
simplest to play it as game forcing by an unlimited bidder.

-Some 4th suit sequences are tricky. One thing that you have
to decide is what is a raise of the 4th suit? It’s probably best to
play it as natural if it is possible for you to have the suit and it’s a major.

4th suit forcing – part 2Board 20 from
Monday 20th

If you don’t play strong jump shifts, then you
have to understand 4th suit forcing: -

Dealer:♠ K54Table
A

West♥ 4WestNorthEastSouth(F)

Both vul♦ AKQ62pass1♦pass1♠(1)

♣ Q1074pass2♣pass4NT(2)

pass5♦pass6NT(3)

♠ 8N♠ 107all pass

♥ J96WE♥ Q108532

♦J983S♦ 74Expert Table
(playing weak jump shifts)

♣ K9865♣ J32WestNorthEastSouth(F)

♠ AQJ9632pass1♦pass1♠(1)

♥ AK7pass2♣pass2♥(2)

♦ 105pass2♠(4)pass4NT(5)

♣ Apass5♥(6)pass5NT(7)

pass6♦pass7♠ or 7NT (8)

Table A:(1)What did you bid with this South hand F(a) in this week’s quiz? If you play strong jump shifts
it’s easy - 2♠ is game forcing and sets ♠’s as trumps. If you play weak jump
shifts then you have to bid 1♠.

(2)What did you bid with this
South hand F(b) in this week’s quiz? Neither 2♠ nor 3♠ are
forcing and so you have to bid like the expert table. This 4NT bid was apparently
normal Blackwood.

(3)South could
(perhaps should) have asked for kings but the answer of two would not show if
the all-important ♠K was present.

Expert(1)We’ll assume that our experts play weak jump
shifts.

Table:(2)4th suit forcing. They play it as
game forcing.

(4)This denies a ♥ stop and probably
shows 3 ♠’s or a good doubleton ♠.

(5)RKCB. South could
equally well mess around with a bit of cue bidding first.

(6)Two key cards
(one ace and the ♠K) and no ♠Q.

(7)Kings?

(8)7♠ is sure
(South knows that he can ruff a ♥ if necessary) but at pairs 7NT may be
worth the gamble.

.

The bottom lines: -

-It really is easy
if you play strong jump shifts.

-I do not
recommend weak jump shift unless you are an experienced pair and completely
happy with 4th suit forcing sequences.

-If you choose to play weak jump shifts then it is often necessary to use
the 4th suit to set up a game force.

-There are various treatments for 4th suit forcing. It’s
simplest to play it as game forcing by an unlimited bidder.

Would you open?Board 9 from Monday 20th

I was asked if I would open this East hand. I
said yes – it was not hindsight, I was not shown the other hands.

Dealer:♠ 54

North♥ Q1062WestNorthEast(E)South

E-W vul♦
962-passpass(1)2NT

♣ Q1062pass3NT(2)all
pass

♠ 1076N♠ KQJ32

♥ KJ875WE♥ 43

♦843S♦ Q75

♣ 85♣ K94

♠ A98

♥
A9

♦
AKJ10

♣ AJ73

(1)Did you open with
this East hand E in this week’s quiz? It’s only 19 for the rule of 20 but I
would open because all of the points are outside the doubleton and the ♠ suit is
excellent.

(2)I would bid
Stayman but the same 3NT contract will be reached anyway.

And what happened? West led a ♥ and 3NT made
overtrick(s).

Had West led a ♠ then South would not have had such an easy time (Deep Finesse says that
there are only 8 tricks for N-S in 3NT). The bottom lines: -

-Upgrade a hand
with a suit like KQJxx.

-Upgrade a hand
where the points are in the long(ish) suits.

Bidding
Sequence Answers

G1♦ - 1♠ - 2♣ - 3♠3♠ is strong, but is it forcing? No. If you want to make a forcing 3♠
bid then you have to bid the 4th suit (2♥ here) followed by a subsequent 3♠ bid.

H2NT
- 3♣ - 3♥ - 4♣What
is 4♣? This is a tricky one, and it really depends upon what 4NT would mean
here. Since partner’s 2NT opening is very clearly defined (20-21) there really
is no need for a quantitative 4NT. So playing 4♣ as natural and 4NT as (RKC) Blackwood
seems logical to me.

J2NT
- 3♣ - 3♥ - 4NTWhat
is 4NT? RKCB if you go along with the above.

K1♦ - 2♣ - 2NTHow strong is 2NT? 12-14. If you have the 18-19 point hand then you have to jump in
NT.

L1♦1NT(overcall)How
strong is the direct 1NT overcall? 15-18 (or 15-17). Anybody who believes that
it is 12-15 needs to learn some bridge basics or else has an ulterior motive
for saying they play such a silly bid (perhaps to avoid being suspended again
for repeated unsportsmanlike psyching?). Some may disagree, but I am not
stupid; be aware – no psyching.

What do you lead from Kxx? And from K10x?Board 19 from Friday 24th

Dealer:♠ A1075It seems that – it
depends?

West♥ J3

Love all♦
10952I won’t
go into the bidding (4♥ is a nice contract)

♣ K105but West ended up
as declarer in 3NT.

Don’t ask me why, but North decided to lead a ♣,

♠ K3N♠ QJ642that’s how to set the contract. But the
question is

♥
K10842WE♥ A76which ♣ should North lead?

♦AQ6S♦ KJ8She reasonably(?)
led the ♣5 but the suit was then

♣ 843♣ AJblocked as it was not clear to
throw the ♣10 on the

♠ 98next
round.

♥
Q95So should one lead the ♣K or ♣10 from
this holding?

♦
743I
don’t know. But let’s have a similar problem from

♣ Q9762Wednesday 15th. I don’t have the complete deal.

♥
K85West
again ended up as declarer in 3NT and in the

bidding South had
indicated that he wanted a ♥ lead.

NNorth had no
entry and in this situation it is

♥
6WE♥ Q1074imperative that he leads a low ♥ so that
N-S pick up

S5 ♥’s off the
top.

♥
AJ932

So what’s correct? What should one lead from Kxx
(Quiz M) and from K10x (Quiz N)? Can anybody who is a better defender than me
(yes, I know that that’s ½ of the club) help me out
here. I guess it’s low from Kxx
and either the K or 10 from K10x? Give me (or send by e-mail)
your opinion. Or you can always post it on the web-site guest book which
I have just installed.

Bidding Quiz AnswersBidding Sequence answers
are on the previous page.

Hand A:1♠. With a weak hand 2♥ may be best, but with game values it’s best to
bid the ♠ suit.

Hand B:3♥. A splinter showing ♥ shortage and agreeing ♠’s.

Hand C:(a)2♣.
This is preferable to 1♠. Note that it is
not denying a major as you intend to bid a (game forcing) 2♠ over a 1NT or 2♥ rebid from partner. This shows your shape. If you initially respond 1♠ and then bid 3♣ that implies 5 ♠’s.

(b)3NT. Partner has thwarted your
attempt to bid out your shape. A 2♠
bid now would be 4th suit forcing. It is technically correct but
there is little point (unless partner is 4540 shape) and you have to agree what
a raise of the 4th suit means.

Hand D:(a)2NT. AKJ10x is worth far more than 8 points
and the hand is easily worth a 2NT (20-21) opener.

(b)3NT. A 2NT rebid after partner
responds at the two level shows 12-14 and so you have to jump in NT to show a
hand too strong to open 1NT (18-19).

Hand E:1♠. Of course you can pass if you prefer but I
upgrade a hand with ♠KQJxx.

Hand F:(a)2♠. A strong jump shift; setting trumps and game forcing. If you
play weak jump shifts then you have to bid 1♠.

(b)2♥. 4th suit forcing. If you play weak
jump shifts then it really is important to understand 4th suit
forcing as 3♠ here is not forcing. You have to bid 2♥ with the intention of bidding ♠’s next go as a forcing bid.